Quincy Transit Lines receives $2.065 million grant from IDOT to buy 13 buses

SPRINGFIELD – Quincy Transit Lines has been awarded a grant for $2.065 million to pay for 13 buses.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Thursday that more than 500 paratransit vehicles valued at $57.1 million have been awarded to 113 transit providers through its Consolidated Vehicle Procurement Program. The vehicles will be delivered to public transportation providers as well as nonprofit organizations serving seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Marty Stegeman, director of transit for the city of Quincy, said the grant will pay for 10 super medium duty buses used throughout the city routes and three light duty buses used for paratransit services.

“(The super medium duty buses) will be basically the same style and design bus that we currently have,” Stegeman said. 

Hancock County also received a grant of $264,000 to buy three buses.

For more than 20 years, the Consolidated Vehicle Procurement Program has helped smaller transit agencies navigate the red tape of the public bidding process while ensuring their vehicles meet federal requirements and specifications, including those of the Americans with Disabilities Act. By purchasing in large volume, IDOT buys the vehicles at a lower cost for the public than if they were purchased individually or in smaller amounts.

“Transit is an essential service that allows our urban, suburban and rural communities to survive and thrive, providing transportation to people who might not have any other option,” Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in a press release. “More than ever, IDOT under Gov. Pritzker is getting communities the resources they need. These vehicles are going to benefit people immediately and far into the future.”

Awards for this cycle were made on a competitive basis, with 50 public transportation providers (371 vehicles) and 63 nonprofit providers (137 vehicles) receiving 508 vehicles, purchased through $54 million in federal funds and $3.1 million in state funds. The highlights:

• A total of 399 vehicles will replace ones that are aging or no longer in service as well as 109 vehicles for expanding existing service. 
• An award of 41 vehicles, the program’s largest, was made to Rides Mass Transit District, which serves 18 counties in southern Illinois. The vehicles being replaced have been in service for almost 11 years on average, with more than 270,000 miles each.
• Fifty battery-electric paratransit vehicles will be bought with a $12.3 million award from the Federal Transit Authority’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program, which is supported by a $1 million Congressional-Directed Spending award from Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth as well as $3.3 million in state funds.
• Eligible transit providers that were not part of this award cycle also can buy vehicles at the price negotiated by IDOT with its vendors.

The vehicles are estimated to be manufactured and delivered between six months and two years. Stegeman hopes Quincy will receive its buses by July 2025.